Making Bacon. 1st time

[alelover]

Hope so Al. Going to be a high of 60º here tomorrow. Plan on cold smoking it.

 

[pc farmer]

How long you cold smoking them?

 

[alelover]

12 hours or so. I hear some folks smoke a few hours, do a rest or 2 then smoke some more. Wha. wha, wha, what's the dif?

 

[pc farmer]

I do 12 hours. 6 hours then in the fridge then another 6 hours. Why? I smoke them over night. Go to work then smoke again.

 

[alelover]

Is that better?

 

[pc farmer]

I don't know. Its just the way my schedule works. It cold smokes while I sleep. I have always rested in between.

I would think a rest in between is a good thing.

 

[alelover]

Smoking Day. A beautiful day out it is today in the Carolinas.

Out of the fridge after 1 1/2 days. It feels a bit sticky. That would be the pellicle it formed I imagine.

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• alelover
• Mar 26, 2016

Rubbed one with white pepper and the other with maple sugar. Let it sit about 40 minutes.

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• alelover
• Mar 26, 2016

Used string for my hangers. Hung in the smoker for 30 minutes before applying the smoke.

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• alelover
• Mar 26, 2016

Put a combo of A-Maze-N Products hickory and pitmaster blend pellets in the toaster oven at 200ºF for an hour to dry them out.

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• alelover
• Mar 26, 2016

60º out at 10:30 AM. A gorgeous day.

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• alelover
• Mar 26, 2016

Going to do a little redesign on the fan situation. Don't seem to need it today. Couldn't go solar today either with the clouds going in and out.

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• alelover
• Mar 26, 2016

The Beautiful Thin Blue.

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• alelover
• Mar 26, 2016

Making some serious smoke.

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• alelover
• Mar 26, 2016

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• alelover
• Mar 26, 2016

See ya in a few hours.

 

[daveomak]

Nicely done so far....   Looks good.... 

.....

 

[alelover]

Did 10 hours with the pellets. Fridge over night. 4 hours with maple dust the next day.

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• alelover
• Apr 2, 2016

Done smoking. Into the fridge for a week.

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• alelover
• Apr 2, 2016

A little sample off the outer edge. Great flavor. A bit salty. Probably from the rub stuck to the outside. Hopefully the inside will be less salty.

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• alelover
• Apr 2, 2016

Going to slice it up today. Be back later.

 

[Bearcarver]

Looking Real Good, Scott !!

Be back for pics of sliced.

Bear

 

[daveomak]

Looks my-t-fine to me...  I'd eat it... 

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Tasty looking bacon! Think I'll go pull a rasher out of the freezer for breakfast!

 

[alelover]

Slicing the smaller slab first. This one had the maple. Trimmed the edges to square it up.

Saved some nice pieces for beans and stuff.

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• alelover
• Apr 2, 2016

Threw it in the freezer for about and hour to stiffen it up.

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• alelover
• Apr 2, 2016

Ready for the slicer.

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• alelover
• Apr 2, 2016

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• alelover
• Apr 2, 2016

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• alelover
• Apr 2, 2016

Vac sealed and into the freezer. Got 3 pounds.

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• alelover
• Apr 2, 2016

More slicing tomorrow.

 

[Bearcarver]

That's some Beautiful Meat to Fat ratio there, Scott !!!

Awesome Looking Bacon!!

---------------

Your Slicer must cut better than mine----I gotta keep mine in the freezer for at least 3 hours to avoid the flap of meat accumulation on the bottom.

Bear

 

[b-one]

M with Al,great bacon dead ahead!

 

[alelover]

Thanks Bear. I should have kept it in longer. I had to throw it back in a couple times. My slicer ain't that good. It's a chore using it. I need to sharpen the blade.

 

[alelover]

Slicer was a bit sluggish yesterday. Gave it a sharpening.

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• alelover
• Apr 3, 2016

Secured the slicer. Has a tendency to slid around.

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• alelover
• Apr 3, 2016

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• alelover
• Apr 3, 2016

This is some good bacon. Much better than commercial.

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• alelover
• Apr 3, 2016

 

[pc farmer]

That's some good looking bacon.

What kinda slicer is that? It has to be really old?

I like it.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Slicer was a bit sluggish yesterday. Gave it a sharpening.

Secured the slicer. Has a tendency to slid around.

This is some good bacon. Much better than commercial.

I like the slicer blocking---That won't go anywhere!!

All I use is a piece of rubbery shelf liner---Really grips the counter & the bottom of my slicer, but it might not work on one like yours with legs.

How did your sharpening work? I sharpened mine with the sharpener attachment that came with the slicer, but I still get that flap of meat at the bottom.

BTW: Your Bacon still looks Awesome!!

Bear

 

[alelover]

It slices a whole lot better when sharp and not sliding around. I spin it on the lathe and hit with a stone.

The slicer is a Rival 1101E/4. Got it for $30 on Ebay. It's vintage. But is a newer one comparatively speaking. The ones before it had a hand crank instead of a motor.